French Quarter residents have accused restaurateur Sean Meenan of depicting himself as a “family operator” and are now threatening to sue if the Vieux Carre Commission approves his plans for a new 223-seat restaurant on the site of an old gas station in the neighborhood, the Times-Picayune reports. Meenan, whose restaurant group includes Café Habana and Habana Outpost in New York (also Dubai), has spent in excess of $2 million in conjunction with building the project, which will result in the new restaurant taking the place of three previously separate lots. Sure, the brand may have once produced a controversial pinup calendar, but it does use compostable utensils and also generates its own electricity. Why are some New Orleans residents against Habana Outpost? They’re apparently worried it will be loud and tacky. “This chain, themed restaurant is totally out of character with this area of the Quarter,” a lawyer tells the paper. “Any project should compliment [sic] the area’s residential character, not destroy it.” [Times-Picayune, Related]